Did Eric Morris recruit Patrick Mahomes?

gangrene · December 16, 2022

I see a LOT of posts associating Morris with recruiting and developing Mahomes.

So, let’s talk about Patrick Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes is, without a doubt, one of the top QBs in the NFL today.

What is debatable is who gets credit for recruiting him to Texas Tech. What’s even more debatable is who should be credited with his development and when did he become the QB we see today.

The son of a MLB pitcher, Patrick grew up on the baseball field. He was an all-state selection in baseball all four years of HS and all-district selection in basketball all four years. He played safety his freshman and sophomore years before switching to QB his JR year. While he earned 4-A all-state honors as 1^st team QB and Offensive POY, he was rated a 3-star prospect by ESPN, Rivals and 24/7 and a 4-star prospect by Scout. He only received three offers from Tech and two of the following: Houston, Rice, OK State OR UNT, per this story in the Oklahoman. I was pretty in tune with UNT recruiting in those day and I don’t recall this, but wouldn’t that have been something if we had landed Patrick Mahomes? Per 24/7 and Rivals (see previous links), he was recruited to Texas Tech by Sonny Cumbie and Trey Haverty and Kingsbury closed the deal. There is no mention of Eric Morris. This Bleacher Report story also credits Haverty.

While his college career was laden with gaudy statistics, both individual and team offense, his W/L record was an average 13-16. Tech’s offense was ranked in the top 5 scoring offenses in the nation. Conversely, the defense was ranked 126^th, 125^th and 128^th (out of 128 FBS teams at the time) during Mahomes three years as a starter. At Tech, he never played on a team that surrendered fewer than 41 points per game. Defense is what has always concerned me with the Air Raid offense.

Even with those gaudy offensive statistics, Mahomes was the 2^nd QB and 10^th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. The NFL scouting report on him didn't portray him as a sure thing.

Conclusion: Patrick Mahomes is just a freakish athlete and may have been able to play professionally in baseball, basketball or football. I hear he was also really good at golf as a teen. He does things on the football field that QBs are not supposed to do. His ridiculous basketball pass for a TD against the Broncos last week is a perfect example of that.

https://youtu.be/66IiJ10otVc

As a QB coach, that is not what you want your QB doing. It works for Patrick because he is a freak of nature but there aren’t many guys who can pull that off in the NFL. I can’t credit anyone with developing him as a QB.

I also don’t find any conclusive evidence that Eric Morris had any involvement with the recruitment of Mahomes to Texas Tech. If anyone has any concrete evidence to prove that, I’d love to see it. I'm not trying to discredit Morris but, at the same time, I don't want to give him credit for something extraordinary that he may not have done.

++Gangrene++

jtm0097 · December 16, 2022

Every article that I have read mentions Kingsbury and Trey Haverty.

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2810803-why-was-patrick-mahomes-not-in-demand-coming-out-of-high-school.amp.html

Edited December 16, 2022 by jtm0097

DentonLurker · December 16, 2022

I’m honestly just asking. Why does it matter? Recruiting is a team effort amongst all the coaches on any given staff. I would think it’s very rare that a player commits because of a single coach.

For me, let’s just go get a baller who can light up some scoreboards right here in Denton!

NorthTexasWeLove · December 16, 2022

2 hours ago, DentonLurker said:

I’m honestly just asking. Why does it matter? Recruiting is a team effort amongst all the coaches on any given staff. I would think it’s very rare that a player commits because of a single coach.

For me, let’s just go get a baller who can light up some scoreboards right here in Denton!

This. And this. And more of this.

Denton kids have to believe in the hometown.

All About UNT · December 16, 2022

8 hours ago, DentonLurker said:

I’m honestly just asking. Why does it matter? Recruiting is a team effort amongst all the coaches on any given staff. I would think it’s very rare that a player commits because of a single coach.

For me, let’s just go get a baller who can light up some scoreboards right here in Denton!

It doesn't in the long run. Also it allows us to get in front of unsubstantiated rumors that Jim Harbaugh and Jimbo Fisher both applied here and actually wanted this job at one point.

Jason Howeth · December 16, 2022

15 hours ago, DentonLurker said:

For me, let’s just go get a baller who can light up some scoreboards right here in Denton!

Well son of a bitch, you figured it out. I can't believe none of the other coaches we've had couldn't crack that code and go for it! It's so simple! #NewDenton

Edited December 16, 2022 by Jason Howeth